Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to speak on this motion, a motion that notes a range of things, including:

(a) 7 September 2015 marks one year to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games—

a very important event for the world and for Australia. Over 11 days of competition, there will be nearly 4,500 athletes from 178 nations competing in about 528 medal events across 22 sports. The sports of paracanoeing and paratriathlon will appear on the Paralympic program for the first time as well, which is great news for those wanting to compete in those events.

The Australian Paralympic Committee have been working very hard. They are preparing a very large team of around 170 athletes from every state and territory, who will be competing in up to 15 sports at the Rio games. Also, for the first time a woman will be leading our mission there. Chef de Mission, Kate McLoughlin, will be leading the Australian team. Australia obviously has a very proud history of success at the Paralympic Games, and we have competed in every one since the first in Rome in 1960—finishing in the top 5 at every summer Paralympic Games since Barcelona in 1992.

I congratulate the Paralympic Committee and the relevant national sporting organisations on their preparations for the Games so far and the potential Australian team members for their dedication to their chosen Paralympic sport. Very importantly, all members of parliament are called on to support the Australian Paralympic team in their preparation for Rio and, in that spirit, we call on all Australians to support the Games as well.

It is a pleasure to support my colleague the member for Newcastle in this very good motion, because Australia is a very proud sporting nation and has had many sporting successes that have shaped our identity, from our early contributions and conflicts overseas to the local match with kids in our neighbours. Not just as a nation but as regions, towns and cities, we are all very proud of our sporting achievements and participation. Newcastle is, of course, one of those renowned Australian sporting towns, and I am sure the member would attest to the impact that sport has on her city. It would probably be fair to say that the mood in the city on a Monday morning goes up and down and varies depending on how the Newcastle Knights have played over the weekend, as is the case in Brisbane and Ipswich. I am very proud to say that our Broncos are about to start yet another finals campaign and we wish them well.

I am also very happy to speak on this motion about Paralympic sport more generally because it gives me an opportunity to remind members, the House and all Australians that in just one year's time we will be seeing some of the best sporting events in world, with some of the finest athletes in the world and with some of the best performances in the world. If we look back at the history of the Paralympic competition we can see that the origins, when they were not known as the Paralympics, are in the competitions that were held for service veterans who had suffered spinal cord injuries during World War II. The games for these veterans were held at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England and were known as the Stoke Mandeville Games. First Summer Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960 and the first Winter Paralympics in Toronto in 1976—a great history throughout that period.

I mentioned earlier Australia's proud history as a sporting nation and, indeed, it can be argued that in no field of sport has Australian enjoyed more consistent excellence of achievement than in Paralympic sport. Australian athletes have consistently excelled at the Summer Paralympics. Australia has participated in all the Games since and has done an excellent job in all of them. In the Sydney 2000 Games, Australia topped the medal tally with 149 medals: 63 gold, 39 silver and 47 bronze. Australia also demonstrated an enormous record of winning medals and participation.

I had the great privilege on Saturday night to be at the Australian Swimming Awards in Brisbane, representing the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten. I was also there to witness firsthand the great job that our Olympic and Paralympic swimming participants have done and the great comradery and competitiveness they enjoy across all of those sports. It was a great honour to be there to see a focus on their ability, their friendship and their comradery, and the competitive spirit that lives within Australian sport. I wish them well and I know that all Australians will be supporting our Paralympic champions as they go to Rio in 2016.

Debate interrupted.

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